Naruto Shadow Mage

Ding!

"Player, the Shadow Clone Technique training progress is now 100/100. Congratulations on mastering the Shadow Clone Technique!"

"Great! Let's see the effects of the Shadow Clone Technique first!"

Utilizing the APP's effect to complete his training in the Shadow Clone Technique, Koshino wasted no time. He began forming the hand seals from his memory and then shouted:

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

"Poof!"

With a cloud of smoke, Koshino immediately felt his chakra halved, highlighting the enormous chakra consumption of the Shadow Clone Technique!

The Shadow Clone Technique, a B-rank jutsu, was developed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, to enhance Konoha's intelligence-gathering capabilities.

Unlike the regular Clone Technique, which creates an illusionary clone, the Shadow Clone Technique creates tangible clones by equally distributing the user's chakra among them. These clones are capable of attacking and performing jutsu, making it a significant upgrade.

Thanks to the APP's accelerated training, Koshino's Shadow Clone Technique was flawless, ensuring no defective clones.

After successfully creating a clone identical to himself, Koshino examined its appearance. He had the same clean-cut, handsome features and black hair styled into a neat, short cut rather than the Nara clan's typical pineapple hair. Satisfied, he nodded.

However, when Koshino tested the clone's effectiveness by punching it in the face, the clone disappeared with a "poof," turning into smoke. Surprisingly, the pain didn't transfer back to him when he touched his face!

"What's going on?"

"Did I train the Shadow Clone Technique incorrectly? Or is its reputation as a 'cheat' technique just a narrative device created by Kishimoto to give Naruto an advantage?"

Confused, Koshino created another clone and repeated the test.

Unfortunately, the result was the same: no transfer of pain or experience. Koshino sighed and thought, "So Kishimoto added that feature for plot convenience?"

"I guess that's why so many geniuses in Konoha didn't realize the potential of the Shadow Clone Technique until Kakashi did. It's not that everyone in Konoha is an idiot; it's just a narrative decision to accelerate Naruto's growth. Clearly, the original story's setup was fictional, and those fanfictions are just as inaccurate."

"Shadow Clone Technique, your true nature has been revealed. You're no longer a 'cheat' technique."

Shaking his head, Koshino didn't feel disheartened. He still had the APP as his ultimate cheat tool, so losing the Shadow Clone Technique's supposed cheat effect wasn't a big deal.

Next, Koshino resumed his chakra training to restore his reserves and then prepared to modify the training progress for the Three Basic Techniques and the Body Flicker Technique.

But as he opened the training progress bar, he noticed something unusual about the Shadow Clone Technique's progress!

"Huh?"

"Wasn't the Shadow Clone Technique at 100/100? Why did it suddenly change to 100/1000?"

"APP, accelerate the training. I want to see what happens when the Shadow Clone Technique reaches 1000/1000!"

Ding!

"Player, the Shadow Clone Technique training progress is now 1000/1000. Congratulations on mastering the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

"Wait? The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique? That sounds familiar from the original story!"

Realizing the APP's upgrade, Koshino recalled the details of the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and discovered the key differences between the two techniques.

In the original story, when did Naruto first acquire his cheat ability?

Wasn't it when he failed the Genin exams and, following Mizuki's suggestion, stole the Scroll of Seals and learned from it?

The Scroll of Seals wasn't just any ordinary item. It contained the jutsu mastered by previous Hokage and detailed instructions for some of Konoha's secret and forbidden techniques.

Upon reflection, Koshino had always found it odd that the Shadow Clone Technique, despite being a B-rank jutsu, was learned by so many within Konoha and even by ninjas outside Konoha. It couldn't be considered a forbidden jutsu, right?

However, the APP revealed that the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique was an A-rank jutsu. Koshino now understood. The Scroll of Seals contained not only the regular Shadow Clone Technique but also its advanced version, the A-rank Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!

The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, an A-rank jutsu, allows the user to create many more clones with less chakra consumption than the regular Shadow Clone Technique.

However, there was a drawback: every experience the clones underwent would be transmitted back to the user when they dispersed.

In the original story, Naruto used this effect for training by relying on the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

Because of this risky effect, creating too many clones and having all their experiences return to the user could endanger the user's life. Hence, the Second Hokage classified it as a forbidden jutsu in the Scroll of Seals!

"I see, it's just two extra words—'Multiple Shadow.' Without those two words, it's just a normal tangible clone technique. With those two words, it becomes a cheat technique!"

"Thankfully, the APP added the extra progress bar. Otherwise, I might have missed out on the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

"Now, let's test the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique to avoid any surprises!"

With this thought, Koshino, now fully recovered, formed the hand seals again and shouted:

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

"Poof! Poof! Poof!"

The technique succeeded!

Using the same amount of chakra, the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique surprised Koshino by creating four clones instead of one—four times the effect of the regular Shadow Clone Technique!

When Koshino instructed the clones to begin training, he felt the experience of taijutsu training from one clone return to him as it dispersed, proving the technique's cheat-like reputation. However, using the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique for training was dangerous.

The return of one clone's experience was manageable for Koshino.

But when the second and third clones dispersed, Koshino's face turned pale.

By the time the fourth clone disappeared, Koshino's face was as white as a sheet, and he passed out on his bed. When he woke up the next day, still feeling the aftereffects of the pain, the APP's new prompt brought a look of joy to his face!

Ding!

"Research successful!"

"Player, would you like to begin training the 'New' Shadow Sewing Technique?"